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SMILES  AND 
REFLECTIONS 

BY 

SHELDON  CORNELIUS  CLARK 


O,  Friend!      PritKee  tKat  this  book  be  read, 
WKetKer  thy  Kair  be  so  or  not! 

Titian  curls  some  praise  in  girls, 
But  they  were  soon  forgot. 

--  From  the  fly-leaf  of  tf  an  old  book- 


Published  by 

ARIEL  PUBLISHING  CO. 

Westgate,   Los  Angeles 
California 


COPYRIGHT 

b$ 
SHELDON  C.  CLARK 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 
1915 


To 

J.     F.     R., 

WHOSE  SIMPLE    LIFE,  ARTISTIC  NATURE 

AND    NOBLE  SOUL   SHINE,    AS    A    GUIDING    STAR 

IN  THE  NIGHT  OP  A   DREARY  WORLD, 

THESE  LINES 

ARE  LOVINGLY  INSCRIBED 
BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


311856 


SMILES  AND  REFLECTIONS 


FORWARD 

Oh!  Muse  of  the  Master  of  Song! 

Strike  now  his  humble  lyre, 
With  a  hand,  steady  and  strong, 

Give  warmth  to  his  lines  from  thy  fire; 
From  Delphic  grot,  lend  now  thy  tho't 

And  charm  of  mythic  life  and  lore 
To  modern  tho't,  and  the  things  it  brought 

To  us, — never  heard  of  before! 

O,  with  thy  sunbeams,  his  body  fill; 

And,  Beautiful  God,  with  thy  science  flood 
His  mind  and  memory,  until, 

In  strength  of  his  own  god-hood,  red  blood 
Shall  flow,  as  each  true  line  shall  glow 

With  Life,  as  it  is, — or  ought  to  be; 
And,  as  fast  as  can  be,  he  will  the  man  be, 

Who,  for  many  years,  he  fought  to  be! 


SMILES  AND  REFLECTIONS 
PRELUSIVE 

Smiles  look  beyond  the  pessimistic  veil 
Into  the  secret  place  where  Joys  prevail; — 
Where  grows  the  Poet's  Flower  in  crannied  wall, 
Which  to  know  and  understand,  root  and  all, — 

Is  the  Wisdom  of  the  Sages, 

The  meaning  of  "the  Mills  of  God," 
Where  Time,  his  merciless  feet  have  trod 

Through  all  the  changing  ages. 

And  never  Loving  Smile, 

Through  all  this  weary  while, 

Showed,  like  some  poor,  blind  creature  groping, 

But  with  Youth  Immortal,  went  forward  Hoping. 

I. 

A  MESSAGE  OF  GOOD  CHEER 

The  temperamental  determination 

In  him  who  will  not  grouch  and  scoff 

At  this  great  world  of  all  creation, 
Wears  a  Smile  that  won't  wash  off. 


1! 


He  makes  his  happiness  right  here, 
In  pleasant  home  for  human  folks, 

In  spirit  of  service  and  good  cheer, 
Combined  with  Joyous  little  jokes. 

He  lifts  the  doubtful,  gloomy  curtain, 

Lights  the  prospect  on  the  way; 
Gives  you  hope  of  being  certain 

Of  a  place  on  "Easy  Street"  some  day! 

In  love  with  thought  and  laws  and  work, — 

The  trinity  of  all  success, — 
With  courage  new,  he  scorns  to  shirk 

The    task    that    spells    the    word,    "possess." 

Thoughts   and   laws   all   know   their   ways, 
And   guided   by    them,    thru   works    and   days, 
With  purpose  one,  if  he  aspire, 
He  will  realize  his  heart's  desire. 

Desires  produce  after  their  kind ; 
Parents  are  they  in  the  human  mind. 
Wish  what  you  will,  tho'  you  still  grope, 
There  are  no  bounds  to  lawful  hope. 


12 


KEEP  THE  LAW  OF  THY  MEMBERS,  AND  OF 

THY  MIND, — 

And  what  you  WILL,  shall  you  surely  find; 
Not  what  you  read,  nor  what  was  seen, 
But  what  in  your  Heart  you  really  have  BEEN. 

I  know  not  what  powers  there  be 
In  stars  to  guide  our  Destiny; 
But  this  I  know:   All  that's  wrought 
Is  Seed  and  Fruit  of  Cosmic  Thought. 

As  the  seed  of  wheat,  or  the  seed  of  dates, 
The  Life  will  be  as  the  Thought  creates; 
The  product  of  the  busy   Mind, 
The  outward  expression  of  its  kind. 

Whatever  work  man  essays  to  frame, 
He,  himself,  must  be  the  same. 
Made  of  the  stuff  within  the  soul, 
Until  to  the  vision  appears  the  whole. 

Know  what  you  want  to  do,  then  hold 
The  Thought  unwavering  and  bold. 
Do  every  day  what  should  be  done, 
You  approach  your  Goal  each  setting  sun. 

13 


II. 

THE  POWER  OF  SMILES 

Power  is  the  Smile  on  the  face  of  Beauty, 
Whence  men  act  from  other  sense  than  duty; 
Where  two  red  lips  and  two  brown  eyes 
Conspire  to  work  their  mysteries. 

Who  said  the  gods  had  flown  away? 

Apollo's  music  yet  fills  the  air, 
His  virgin  sister  joins  him  in  play 

Where  Venus  watches  debonair! 

The  drama  of  the  hour  is  set 

Quite  different  from  the  old, — 
But,  if  you  look  with  care,  you'll  get 

The  old,  old  Stories  all  retold. 

This   subtile   power,   for  seven   years, 
Involved  the  Greeks,  in  blood  and  tears, 
For  Beautiful  Helen  and  a  Royal  Boy, 
To  encamp  about  the  walls  of  Troy. 

O,  many  a  sacred,  secret  trust 
Has  come  to  naught  thru  Beauty-lust! 
Missions  of  many  weary  miles 
Have   failed   by   the   coy   of   Woman's    Smiles. 
14 


Men  work  with  zeal,  like  boys  at  play, 
Till  woman  enters — then  the  de-el  to  pay! 
Good  sense   forgot,  they  act  like  gabies; 
Strong  men   anon   become  as  babies. 

Rivalry  divides  old   friends, 

And  Jealousy  his  venum  lends, — 

All  for  this  "rainbow  painted  on  air," 

Which    happened    along   just    then    and    there. 

III. 

THE  ENCHANTRESS 

With  no  other  mermaids  on  hand  to  "fry," 
Throw  this  in  your  skillet,  and  try 
To  learn  the  wizzardry  and  wiles 

Of  the  varied  TYPES  of  women's  smiles. 

The  conscious  Enchantress,  knowing  her  power, 
And  you  the  victim  have  the  "bones," 

Chance,  only,  being  her  business  hour, 
Like  a  market-woman,  at  once  propones. 

Think  not,  howrever,  that  her  style 
Is  that  of  market-woman,  the  while ; 
She  is  luxurious  and  lazy, — 
All  enchantresses  are  lazy. 
15 


She  looks  at  you  with  wondering  pity — 
Too  fat  of  brain  to  be  witty — 
She  looks  at  you  with  query  and  surprise, 
And  to  herself  she  thus  replies: 

"I  know  that  I'm  no  beauty  prize, 
Yet  this  old  trick  of  mouth  and  eyes 
Is  going  to  bring  this  lobster  across, — 
So  big  and  strong,  yet  soft  as  moss!" 

O,  the  humorous  pity  of  it  all! 
This  man  so  strong,  bulky  and  tall, 
Like   Hercules  in  captivity 
To  the  Lydian  queen,  Omphale! 

IV. 
THE  CIRCE  SMILE 

Some  encounter  the  Circe  Smile. 
The  groveling  fool  sees  not  the  guile! 
He's  fed,  and  toasted  with  the  wine 

That  turns  him  into  filth  of  swine; 

f 

Forgets  his  home,  his  friends,  his  pledges  all 
And  every  sense  of  Duty's  call; 
A  travesty  of  man!    In  morals,  sick, — 
A  sore  on  the  Body  Politic! 
16 


The  Circe  Smile,  with  its  dire  spell, 
Links  women  with  the  powers  of  hell, — 
A  fragrant  narcotic,  benumbing  men's  might 
By  the  Alchemy  of  Aphrodite. 

V. 

THE  SMILE  OF  MONIED 
ARISTROCRACY 

The  Money  Smile,  cruel  and  bold, 
Seen,  nowadays,  on  woman's  face, — 

Exponent  of  congested  gold, — 
Powerful,  as  a  bear's  embrace. 

Arogant   as   frozen   waters; — 
Not  in  the  millionaire  himself, 

But  in  the  smiles  of  wife  and  daughters 
Lurk  the  curve  of  brutal  pelf. 

Her  "fortune,"  indeed,  is  in  her  face; 

She  smiles  her  consciousness  of  power; 
Forgotten  is  her  childhood  grace, — 

And  this  her  life's  high-tidal  hour. 

Now  coldly  does  her  smiles  confess, 

That  of  all  which  this  big  world  contains, 

She  may,  by  simple  wish  possess, 
From   "Hubby's"   automatic  gains. 

17 


VI. 

WOMAN'S  SMILES,  THE  SHEET- 
ANCHOR  OF  THE  GOOD 
SHIP,  EARTH 

But  be  it  far  from  every  mind, 

That  Women  have  not  in  Smiling  wrought 
A  greater  Service  to  Mankind, 

Than   all    the    ills    they   may   have    frought. 

Good  women  also  smile;  and  doing  so, 

'Tis  then  we  only  surely  know 
What  verily  Is  a  smile ;  for  then 

Bright   heaven   opens   unto  men. 

What  more  delightful  sight  to  see 
In  the  vast  fields  of  constructive  life, 

Than  Home-coming  of  the  father 
To  happy  children,  cheerful  wife? 

Vera  meets  you  at  the  door, 

George  and  Albert  claim  first  kiss! 

And  Mamma's  Smile  the  cradle  o'er, 
Declares  the  whole  unuttered  Bliss 


18 


Of  this  heaven-born  Counsel  of  the  Free! 

Miniature  of  the  future  State, 
Where  Love  is  queen  of  Liberty, 

And  Peace,  the  Comrade  of  her  mate! 

Our  MOTHERS  gave  the  world  its  men ; 
They   regard  their  sons  with  pride — and   then 
Our  masters  blight  the  world  with  strife, 
And  destroy  for  both,  their  peace  and  life. 

Oh!  the  cruelty,  withal! 

In  light  of  JESUS'  life  and  word, 
The  Song  of  Peace  and  Heaven's  call, — 

O  sons  of  Mothers,  pray  SHEATHE  the  Sword! 

VII. 

THE  BIRTH  OF  SMILES— THE  TOKEN 
OF  UA  LIVING  SOUL" 

In  Nature's  vast  elaboration, 

Amid  the  eons,  there  came  a  feast, — 

The  fact  and  sign  of  separation 
Of  human  life,  and  that  of  beast. 


19 


"The  sons  of  God"  then  walked  the  earth, 
And  primal  man  on  man  then  smiled ; 

The  infant,  JOY,  was  swathed  in  Mirth, 
And  Smiles  were  born  to  parent  and  child. 

The  crowning  moment  of  a  mother's  joy, 
The  greatest  that  our  race  may  find, 

Is  when  first  her  baby  boy 

Smiles  answer  of  a  Normal  Mind. 

Great  libraries,  with  vast  aisles 

Of  books,   and  schools  with  many   teachers, 
May  not  unfold  the  Soul  as  SMILES 

In  faces  with  noble,  inciting  features. 

The  most  invincible,  occult  force 

That  men  will  meet  in  the  wildwood 

Journey  of  a  life-time  course 

Is  the  Smile  of  Innocent  Childhood. 

And,  if  you  offend  such  little  one, 

It  were  well  for  you,  you  should  not  be; 

Better  your  neck  should  thread  a  millstone, 
And  cast  yourself  into  the  sea! 


20 


Why?     Because    Instinctive    Law   of   Race 
Protection  all  other  laws  replace! 
Give  up  Everything,  but  Mind 
And  perpetuation  of  your  kind! 

If  these  you  surrender,  all  is  lost! 

The  very  Key-Stone  of  the  world, 
And   end   Creation   looked   to   most, 

Into   nothingness   and    Chaos   hurled! 

VIII. 

POLARITY,  THE  LAW  OF  HARMONY 
AND  CONSTRUCTIVE  FORCE 

Already,  Cheer,  like  a  rosy  dawn, 

Stands  tip- toe  in  propitious  East, 
To  greet  you,  whether  of  brain  or  brawn, 

To  join  our  Brothers'  Cosmic  Feast. 

But  this  great  Presence  none  ever  saw, 
Or  fully  knew  its  wonderous  worth, 

Until  Polarity's  great  Law 

In  minds  of  thoughful  men  found  birth. 


21 


Knowing  this  law  in  their  daily  life, — 

For  them  there  is  no  paradox; 
Knowing  it  not,  we  suffer  strife, 

And  half  the  ills  of  Pandora's  box. 

Things  went  wrong  in  the  home  today? 

You  felt  the  derth  of  charity, — 
And  thought  a  thousand  miles  away 

Not  far? — It  lacked  Polarity. 

In  vast  Nature's  Duality, 

Her  constant  law  Polarity, 

In  pairs,  reciprocating  thru 

Every  part  of  the  Cosmos,  true,— 

Thru  molecules,  and  systems  of  countless  suns, 
The  "law  of  twos"  forever  runs. 
Opposites  pull  from  pole  to  pole. 
Things  ALIKE,  REPEL,  body  or  soul. 

Think  not  that  in  "field"  of  opposing  poles 
Is  a  Force  new-made.     It  is  the  cosmic  power 

That  in  beauty  made  the  world  that  rolls, — 
And  making  others,  until  this  hour. 


22 


The  cattle  on  a  thousand  hills, 

The  seas  of  wheat  and  rice  and  corn, 

Great  trees  by  the  side  of  purling  rills, 
All  on  the  back  of  Polarity  borne! 

The  law  of  the  "Infra- World"  and  force 
Is  the  same  as  this,  in  its  course ; 
Atom-worlds    'round    their   centers   whirl, 
And  around  their  molecular  centers  curl. 

Each  Atom-Planet  keeps  its  course, — 
A  core  of  electro-motive  force, — 
Itself  moving  between  its  poles, 
As  round  and  round  its  center  it  rolls. 

The  Infra- World,  itself  a  magnet, 

Changes  its  poles  and  maintains  its  force, 

With  reference  to  its  mate, — 

All  attracted  by  each,  each  moving  in  course.* 


*NoTE — The  technicalities  of  the  above  theme  do  not  accommodate 
themselves  readily  to  metrical  composition;  but,  if  my  reader  desires 
to  pursue  it  further,  let  him  read  a  small  book,  "Two  New  Worlds," 
I.  The  Infra-World;  II.  The  Supra- World,  by  E.  E.  Fournier,  author 
of  "The  Electron  Theory."  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  Publishers, 
London. — The  Author. 

23 


IX. 


THE  HUNTING-GROUNDS  OF  THE 
MODERN  SCIENTIST 

Light  is  the  Lord  of  the  world.  It  knows 

Its  laws  to  perfection. 
Thruout  the  universe  it  flows 

In  every  direction. 

The  wizzardry  of  Modern  Science, 
The  symbol  of  almighty  Truth, — 
Enjoys  a  million  willing  clients, 

And  shows  the  world's  eternal  Youth! 

Beauty  is  Truth  and  Truth  is  Force, — 
No  secrets  here  to  buy  or  sell, — 

The  perfect  three  in  Nature's  course 
Observed  by  man,  he  will  excell 

In  aspirations  of  our  race. 

In  tune  with  "music  of  the  stars," 
He  will  with  Harmony  replace 

The  selfishness  and  pain  that  bars 


24 


Us  from  our  high  estate.    For  man—- 
The  paragon  of  life  on  earth, 

Since  records  of  being  below  began, — - 
With  all  his  faults,  has  greatest  worth, 


The  law  of  the  Sea  is  the  law  of  the  Soul ; 
Its  tides  flow  out,  then  inward  roll. 
As  it  fills  the  harbor,  so  the  spirit  comes  in 
And  awakens  the  soul  to  new  life  within. 

When  the  tide  is  out  in  the  soul  of  you, 
And  life  seems  full,  and  the  whole  of  you 
Glutted  with  wealth  and  its  seeming  power,- 
You're  high  and  happy  in  your  hour. 

But  the  tide  come  in,  and  you  find  YOURSELF 
The  infinite  Treasure,  and  not  the  pelf 
That  made  you  so  glad !  You  are  the  maker 
Of  all  that  you  worshipped !   Also  partaker 

Of  all  that  the  Spirit  of  the  spheres 
Has  made. — Maker  of  the  gods  of  men, 
Since  Time  began  to  count  his  years! 
Shall  You  then,  be  their  Slave  again? 
25 


X. 

THE  SIMPLE  LIFE  AND  ITS 
CONTRAST— THEOLOGY 

I  tend  my  garden  of  soil  and  seed, 

And  wait  the  warm  and  gentle  showers ; 

I  clear  my  ground  of  grass  and  weed, 
And  duly  reap  its  fragrant  flowers. 

A  partner  of  the  sun  am  I ; 

Content  to  do  my  work  right  here, 
Where  song  of  bird  and  joy  of  sky 

Fill  my  hours  with  normal  cheer. 

The  whole  great  world's  too  much  for  me ; 

It  buffets  and  baffles  the  student  mind, 
Like  drowning  swimmer  in  a  stormy  sea, 

Grasping  for  all,  I  nothing  find. 


I  know  not  where  my  Home  shall  be, 

Nor  how  long  within  this  Veil  I  may  survive ; 

I  know,  like  streams,  I  travel  toward  the  Sea 

Of  Larger  Life,  and  shall  be  ready  when  I  arrive. 
26 


I  do  not  know  the  features  of  that  Home,— 
The  Noble  Scenes  that  will  by  view  surprise ; 

I  know  that  when  unto  my  place  I  come, 
'Twill  be  what  then  my  life  can  REALIZE. 

The  Church  shows  jasper  walls  and  'golden  streets' ; 

Golden  harps,  and  one  unceasing  concert  grand ; 
A  golden  gate,  a  golden  throne  with  jeweled  seats! 

A  kind  of  heaven  that  hints  of  Jewish  brand. 

The  symbols  of  the  lusty  Turk  present 
Also,  pictures  of  his  heart's  desire  ; — 

The  dreamy,  luxurious,  lascivious  content 
That  deadens  souls  in  their  self-centered  fire. 

It's  pleasant  to  think  in  Symbols  outlined, 

And  image  forth  the  pictures  grand ; 
But  lost  to  truth  and  death  to  mind, 

Who  forgets  for  what  those  Symbols  stand. 

In  terms  of  matter  we  ever  tho't  of  heaven ; — 
Of  "heathen"  not  again  should  we  complain. 

The  Christ  and  Socrates  much  the  same  have  given  ; 
Their  gifts,  by  Dogma,  ne'er  can  we  explain. 


27 


The  Spirit  of  Truth  must  be  discerned 
In  Spirit  sense, — as  we  have  learned 
From  loftier  points  than  matter-sense ; 
And  Spirit  tho't  and  Spirit  sense, 
Direct  us  to  our  Recompense. 

XL 

COURAGE,  SELF-CONTROL,  KEEPING 

IN  "TUNE" 

We,  the  People,  are  children  still. 

Folly  fills  the  world  with  tears ; 
Formality  and  fear,  with  chill  ; 

While  Wisdom  calls  for  manly  cheers. 

Cheer  of  a  fearless  heart  and  mind, 
Cheer  of  a  soul,  knowing  how  to  rest 

In  the  Order  of  Nature,  and  be  kind ; 
And  to  SMILE,  having  done  your  best! 

Our  best  in  effort  is  the  bush 

Whereon  our  greatest  joys  bloom; — - 

When  one  tries f  don't  "knock,"  but  push! 
For  improvement  there  is  always  room. 


28 


When  trained  in  heart  and  mind  and  will, 
And  all  are  crowned  with  Self-control, 

Our  Social  life  will  then  fulfill 
The  aspirations  of  the  Soul. 

Then,  joys  innumerable  shall  be; 

And  smiles  of  Cheer,  like  a  new  day's  birth, 

A  happy  Social  world  shall  see, — 

The  Marriage  of  the  heaven  and  earth ! 


A  brave  Smile  is  the  rarest  thing. 

'Tis  rarer  in  life  than  charity ; 
It  seems  like  a  lark  in  the  early  spring, 

Great,  because  of  its  rarity. 

Smiles  the  light  of  the  world  attend. 

Smile,  and  you  drive  gloom  away ; 
Smile  on  the  stranger  who  has  no  friend, 

And  he  will  "smile  on  you,"  some  day! 

*       *       * 

From  all  life's  ills  you  may  be  immune, 
As  you  travel  the  Open  Road, 

If  with  factors  Four  you  keep  in  "tune," 
And  joyously,  carry  the  Iqad : 
29 


In  Tune  with  your  Work,  be  it  great  or  small, 
In  Tune  with  How  it  is  done,  withal ; 
In  Tune  with  your  Purpose,  loving  and  true, 
In  Tune  with  the  Worker — that's  YOU  ! 

XII. 

A  RECONNOISSANCE  OF  TWO  TYPES 

OF  THOUGHT  WITH  REFERENCE 

TO  SMILES 

SMILES  the  cushions  are  that  soften 
Man's  hard  knocks  that  come  full  often. 
Thru  the  wrinkles  he  seems  to  see 
A  goodly  world,  with  which  to  agree. 

Cool  and  confiding,  he  seeks  his  jobs, 

And,  careless  like,  with  Fate  hobnobs. 

Familiar  with  the  swing  of  events, 

While  working  for  things,  he  gets  "contents." 

He  holds  large  trust  in  the  part  that  smiles  ; 
He  seeks  not  trouble,  knows  no  trials. 
By  habits  of  life,  he  keeps  in  "tune," 
And  all  his  days  are  like  a  day  in  June. 


30 


A  fine  philosophy  he  shows ; 
But  of  that,  forsooth,  he  little  knows. 
And  I  think  'tis  finer  in  one  to  live  it, 
Than,  by  fine  talk,  to  others  give  it! 


A  Christian  Dogma,  howe'er  absurd, 
When  by  the  "touching  voice"  is  heard, 
And  Reason  in  the  Crowd  is  broken, — 
It  falls,  as  tho'  a  god  had  spoken ! 

If  this  you  doubt,  ask  Mrs.  Granday, 

And  she  will  tell  how  Mr.  Sunday 

Went  to  "to  the  bat"  with  a  half-million  call,- 

And,  My!  how  he  made  the  "sinners"  fall! 

This  modern  Samson  knows  the  game  ; 

He  is  not  wanted  for  the  souls  he  saves, — 
That  is  merely  a  convenient  claim, — 

It's  saving  CHURCHES  from  their  graves! 

Some  good  folks,  with  their  jealous  God, 
Think  that  "man  was  made  to  mourn" ; 

And  all  are  called  to  "pass  under  the  rod," 
Because  of  "the  primal  sin"  they've  borne. 
31 


All,  in  answer  to  this,  I  would  say : 

Go  bask  in  the  sun  of  a  West  Coast  day  ; 

Or  recall  the  Divine  in  the  face  of  your  child, 

When  it  looked  up  into  yours,  and  SMILED  ! 

From  false  teaching  and  bad  belief, 
'Tis  hard  to  pry  the  old  world  loose  ; 

But  simple  Truth  is  our  relief, — 
To  LIVE  IT  is  the  only  ruse. 

We've  tired  of  those  who  bawl  and  prate 

About  the  sinfulness  of  man, 
While  the  world  goes  on  at  the  same  old  rate 

In  Selfishness — despite  their  "plan." 

A  plan,  that  on  my  brother's  blood 
A  price  and  bargain  has  been  laid ; 

And,  by  faith,  that  price  has  stood 
For  all  the  mischief  we  have  made. 

For  simple  Justice  and  Common  Sense, 

Theology  was  not  invented. 
But  why,  and  how,  and  where,  and  whence 

This  old  world  caught  it — I  pass,  demented! 


32 


Why,  the  Whitest  Soul  that  was  ever  infleshed, 
That  worked  like  a  Prince,  and  did  not  falter, 

Healed,  taught,  and  the  multitude  refreshed, 
Should  lie,  like  a  bullock,  on  a  Pagan  altar? 

The  men  and  women  of  the  Churches 

God's  Children  are ;  I  love  them ; 
But  I  protest  Sectarian  work, 

And  Warring  Creeds  above  them. 

XIII. 
VIRTUE 

'The  Lark  sings  to  his  desire,  not  his  possession." — Donius. 

A  Harbor  I've  found 

On  the  sea  of  my  life, 
Where  sunbeams  play  around, 

And  no  waves  are  at  strife. 
In  my  storm-worn  bark 

I  entered  a  cove : 
Here  I  halted  to  hark ; 

And,  behold,  from  a  grove 
Was  wafted  on  air, 

A  song  of  the  Queen 
Of  this  harbor,  so  fair. 

The  song  and  the  scene 
33 


So  blended  together, 

In  beauty  and  cheer, 
That  none  could  tell  whether 

The  eye  or  the  ear 
Was  the  way  to  the  soul. 

Her  glory  of  face, 
Usurping  control ; 

That  masterful  grace, 
The  magical  light 

Of  those  wonderful  eyes, — 
In  a  captive's  plight, 

I  stood  with  surprise ! 


Confessing  to  this, — 

As  captives  all  should, — 
She  gave  me  a  kiss. 

From  then  I  believed 
That  my  actual  state — 

If  not  badly  deceived — 
Was  more  like  a  Mate 

To  my  Lady's  Grace, 
Than  I  dared  to  have  tho't, 

When  I  first  saw  her  face, 
And  her  eyes  I  first  caught ! 
34 


Time,  in  his  flight, 

Has  proved  our  Love  true. 
Long,  since  that  night, 

(Between  me  and  you,) 
Her  truth  without  measure, 

My  affection  most  deep, 
We  gladly  treasure, 

And  sacredly  keep. 
Her  Soul  is  the  scepter 

Controlling  my  life. 
In  my  heart  have  I  kept  her, 

Thru  strenuous  strife — 
So  EXACTING  my  Queen ! 

But  a  wiser  Companion, 

HAS  NO  PRINCE  EVER  SEEN. 

"A  Romance  of  Youth!" — 

And  then  you  smile! 
But  twig  you  this  Truth 

Which  is  worth  you  the  while  ? 

THE  SAME  OCEAN  THAT  LAVES 
YOUR  SHORE  AND  SCENE, 

SHINES  IN  THE  HARBOR 
OF  YOUR  ONLY  QUEEN/ 

35 


XIV. 
DESTINY— SELF-MADE 

Stripped  for  the  race  in  the  New  Life  we  stand ; 
The  sky  is  above  us,  our  feet  on  the  land. 
The  illusions  that  bound  us  can  bind  us  no  more ; 
Now  we  answer  the  call  heard  ages  before. 

Oh,  welcome  events, — of  the  day,  or  the  dark ; 
No  wind  that  fills  the  sail  of  our  bark, 
Can  carry  us  from  the  place  where  we  shall  come, 
For  the  limitless  Universe  is  our  home. 

I  want  not  the  things  withheld  from  me ; 
In  league  with  Nature's  laws,  I'm  free ! 
Free,  the  guilt  of  "Special  Providence"  sought, 
Free  t<>  the  Aim  of  Obedience  wrought. 

I  doubt  not,  nor  fear,  complain  not,  nor  sigh ; 
What's  for  me  SEEKS  me ;  I  answer,  "Here  am  I." 
Comes  nothing  in  the  world,  too  early,  or  too  late; — 
Wouldst  know  PEACE?    THEN  LEARN  TO  MAKE  THY 
FATE. 


36 


UIN  TUNE" 

Throughout  the  Universe  Divine, 
A  loving  chain  of  sequence  runs  ; 

And  when  our  wills  with  this  intwine, 
We  work  in  league  with  stars  and  suns. 

To  work  the  Will  Divine,  and  live 
In  harmony  with  laws  and  forces, 

A  Cosmic  Commerce  of  receive  and  give ! 
At  home  with  worlds,  in  all  their  courses,- 

"The  Home-feeling"  springs  in  our  heart ; 

And  Conscious  that  the  Whole  of  Life 
Is  dear  to  us,  in  every  part, 

We  Love  Mankind, — and  cease  our  strife ! 

XV. 
THE  VOICE 

I  have  made  of  one  blood  all  the  nations, 
That  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 

To  live  in  the  peaceful  vibrations 

Of  my  Children,  from  hour  of  their  birth. 

You  have  set  them  against  one  another! 

In  the  midst  of  their  struggle  to  live, 
You  left  each  in  the  fear  of  his  Brother, 

While  the  Law  of  all  Life  is  to  Give. 
37 


Your  kings  and  your  masters  have  taken 

My  cattle  and  timber  and  lands; 
And  the  earth  is  now  broken  and  shaken 

By  the  guns  of  your  battling  bands. 

I'm  tired  of  your  bating  and  breeding 

My  Youth  for  the  altars  of  Mars, 
Where  hunger  and  thirsting  and  bleeding 

Fills  the  sickening  scenes  of  your  wars. 

Thru  the  plaster  and  lath  of  pretentions 
Will  I  thrust  the  rod  of  my  power ; 

I  will  sweep  from  the  earth  your  inventions, 
That  obstruct  the  Dawn  of  my  Hour. 

Your  tools  of  oppresison  I'll  scatter, 
^"The  Slave  and  his  Mother,  be  free ; 
The  thrones  of  your  power,  I  will  shatter, 
And  Life  shall  be  large  as  the  Sea. 

The  Smiles  of  my  Children  shall  attend  it, 
And  their  songs  shall  be  heard  thru  the  night, 

And  the  Joy  of  Life,  as  intended, 

Shall  fill  the  glad  world  with  its  light ! 


38 


SOME  BLOSSOMS  AND  COSMIC  DUST 

"A  great  American  revival  is  to  be  the  revival  of  a  Spiritual  Force 
in  the  terms  of  National  life."— Prof.  George  H.  Boke,  University  of 
California. 

Back  of  the  tree  was  the  seed, 

Back  of  the  river,  the  rill ; 
Back  of  each  life  and  destiny 

Was  strewn  its  good  or  ill. 

If  good,  the  life  is  a  treasure; 

If  ill,  it  means  a  fight 
For  every  forward  step 

In  Competence  and  Right. 

If  we  could  understand 

God's  speech  in  Nature's  Laws, 

Our  noblest  Religion 

Would  look  to  Effect  and  Cause. 

We'd  waste  less  time  in  asking 

Our  Father  to  forgive, 
ind  get  us  down  to  the  Business 
Of  learning  How  to  Live. 


39 


IDEALS 

Ideals  now  hold  for  you  those  lofty  Heights. 
Unwarned,  you  visit  them  in  spirit  flights. 
You  know  they're  there,  and  may  await  your  hour 
In  peace,  for  Realizing  Power. 

INVESTMENTS 

Your  treasures  of  Mind 

Are  Investments  of  Soul ; 
Securely  hold  them, 

As  the  years  onward  roll. 
You  cannot  be  bankrupt, 

Nor  fear  a  decline, 
For  ALL  Truth  has  a  place 

In  the  Market  Divine. 


40 


A  SONG  IN  MINOR  KEY 

'Tis  Nature's  sacred  hour! 

A  golden  light 
Is  streaming  back  across 

The  distant  hills ; 
A  peaceful  calm  pervades 

My  soul  tonight, 

For  in  that  Backward  flow  of  light, 
A  Symbol  of  my  hope's  delight 

I  see,  which  all  my  being  fills ! 


The  daylight  now  is  gone, 
And  with  its  flight 
My  Symbol,  too,  has  flown ; 

With  it  did  rest 
Two  voiceless  Thoughts, 

For  one  sweet  moment  bright, — 
But  one  has  vanished  with  the  light, 
The  other  (groping  in  the  night), 

I  put  to  sleep  within  my  breast. 


41 


THE  PATIENT  AND  THE  DOCTOR 

Sick  upon  his  bed  he  lays ; 
Painful  and  dreary  are  his  days ; 
Fever  almost  sets  him  wild, — 
But,  with  every  call,  the  Doctor  smiled. 
Spoke  he  not  of  the  patient's  grief, 
Said  nothing  of  a  quick  relief : 
Just  Smiled  into  his  face,  and  broke 
A  quiet,  sympathetic  joke! 

The  Doctor,  each  repeating  morn', 

Repeats  the  magic  of  his  Smile. 
The  patient  FEELS  new  life  is  born ; 

The  watchful,  skillful  Nurse,  the  while, 
Carries  out  the  Doctor's  plan ; 

Without  knife,  or  drug,  or  pill 
Changed  the  *  'patient"  to  a  man  ; 

And  healthy  and  happy  he's  living  still. 


42 


THE  ROSES  AND  THE  SUNBEAM 

TO  A.  D.  F. 

"The  senses  imprison  us." — Emerson. 

Two  roses  hung  from  the  self  same  bush ; 

Not  a  sound  the  silence  stirred ; 
And,  from  the  heart  of  the  noon-day  hush, 

I  will  tell  you  what  I  heard. 

One  rose  said  to  the  other  white  rose, 

With  the  echo  of  a  sigh, 
"I  wonder  where  all  the  perfume  goes, 

The  breeze  takes  in  passing  by." 

A  wandering  gleam  of  bright  sunbeam 

Paused  for  a  moment's  space 
To  say, — "Down  deep  in  the  poet's  dream 

Your  fragrance  has  found  its  place ; 

"In  what  I  wrought  by  the  dreamer's  tho't 
To  flow  from  his  golden  pen, — 

To  do  what  the  poet  knoweth  not, 
In  the  hearts  of  other  men." 

The  roses  asked  of  the  sunbeam's  flood, 

"Where  goeth  all  things  fair?" 
It  answered  thus:  "They  return  to  God; 

And  He  dwelleth  everywhere." 
43 


O  MY  COUNTRY!— ARE  THEY  CRAZY? 

O  My  Country !    How  can  I  sing  thy  songs 
Of  Peace  in  major  key,  while  cruel  wrongs 
Are  forced  upon  my  Brothers  over  there, 
Where    Brotherhood    is    mocked,    by    bloodshed    and 
despair? 

The  ghoulish  ghost  of  Conquest  is  abroad, 

And  holds  a  Continent  in  awful  spell. 
They  forfeit  all  the  progress  they  have  made, 

And  turning  this  fair  earth  into  a  hell. 
Their  war  has  quenched  their  factory  fires  at  home  ; 

Few  there  be  who  can  employment  give, 
Of  heads  of  homes,  but  few  will  e'er  return — 

Their  kings  possess  the  lives,  by  which  the  people  live. 

O  EUROPE!  In  trust  with  centuries  of  Art, — 
Not  yours  to  spoil — belonging  to  the  World, 

For  empty  glories,  your  titled  sons  may  boast, 
By  you  it  is  into  Destruction  hurled. 

The  conquering  armies  make  a  Solitude. 

The  venal  press,  forthwith,  declare  it  "Peace!" 
Yes,  a  gruesome  peace,  that  lies  in  Death's  embrace  ; 

That  stops  the  pulse  of  Human  Love  and  Hope, 
And  slays  the  Aspirations  of  a  Race ! 

44 


With  Thee,  sweet  Hope, 
Abides  the  heavenly  light, 

That  shows  us  better  things 
Beyond  this  dreadful  night. 


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